Babysitting Willow
by The Raider
Summary: After her breakup with Tara in "Tabula Rasa", Willow accidentally turns herself into a child. After receiving a call from Buffy, Tara finds herself having to take care of the child, who wants nothing except her attention. Season 6 AU. Complete Fluff.
1. Would It Hurt?

**After writing all of these really angsty/drama focused fics, I thought maybe I'd try something different, and just write something that really didn't have any drama whatsoever in it. Henceforth, this fic was started :P This ****takes place a few days after the end of "Tabula Rosa", so Willow and Tara are obviously seperated/broken up. Season 6 was one of the seasons I was never really satisfied with, so I figured, what the heck, I'll try my hand at trying to write a story that gives these two a happy ending. **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"Tara?" As she heard Buffy's voice come through the receiver, Tara Maclay felt nothing but fear sink into her heart.

"Buffy? W-What's wrong?" Dropping her bag onto the floor beside her, the blonde's mind instantly began to calculate ideas on what had happened. It had been only days since she had left Willow, and the pain in her heart was still fresh. It hurt to know that someone she had trusted with her life had taken to erasing parts of her memory, but she hoped that her display of leaving the girl would cause her to see how addicted to Magick she truly was. But with Buffy calling, the possibility that maybe Willow might have been unable to deal with herself was an unavoidable one.

"It's Willow…she's…maybe you should just come over. It'll be easier to explain if you see her in person." As she finished her sentence, the Slayer cupped her hands around the mouth of the receiver. Although the sound was extremely muffled, Tara found herself able to still make out the words of a young child saying "Want…Tara!"

"Buffy, is she alright? Is there someone else there?"

"Can you just come over, please?" Unable to avoid noticing the slight tone of desperation in the Slayer's voice, the blonde girl closed her eyes for a moment before answering.

"Alright. Where are you?"

"At my house." Again, the sound of a small child screaming managed to leak into the phone. "Please hurry."

"I'll be there in a few minutes." Forcing herself to gently set the receiver down onto the stand, Tara sighed. She hadn't expected to hear from Buffy so soon after her breakup with Willow, which she had no doubt was painful for the other girl as well. Her Willow had looked so broken as she had watched her pack her things and leave. There had been many things in her life that she felt sadness over, but leaving her girl was one of the biggest. Grabbing her wallet and the key to the Dorm room, the girl was out the door within minutes. It was only a short walk to the Summers' house, and she didn't want to delay the inevitable.

* * *

As she rushed through the door to the Summers' house, Tara's heart kept up its steady rhythm through a mixture of fear and anxiety that coursed through her veins. The way Buffy's voice had sounded on the phone had been…almost frantic, and on the walk over, her mind had come to a thousand unhappy conclusions regarding what the Slayer wanted to see her for. When she had tried to mention Willow, it seemed as if she had been unable to voice the words. That single fact had scared her even more with every step she took.

"Buffy?" Yelling out the girl's name, she made her way into the living room, and felt every single thought in her mind scatter as her eyes caught sight of a young girl being comforted by both Buffy and Dawn as she cried.

"Buffy?" Saying the Slayer's name once more, the blonde saw the child's eyes catch sight of her from behind tear-stained cheeks.

"Tara!" As the young child said her name, Tara opened her mouth in shock. Unable to reply to the child's cry of her name, the blonde found every other pair of eyes in the room staring at her. As the young red-head jumped off the couch, she rushed towards the older girl. When she finally reached her, the child wrapped her arms around the older girl's leg, and smiled.

_"Willow?!"_ Kneeling down in order to properly look at the child's face, the blonde could hardly believe what was standing in front of her. The child was virtually the spitting image of what Willow had appeared as in the numerous childhood photos she had seen over the course of the past two years. The same fiery red-hair, the same bright green eyes that stood out so much that she couldn't help but stare at them, every individual characteristic that made up Willow was part of the child in front of her.

"Tara!" Unable to stop herself, Willow once again wrapped her short arms around the other girl's neck and squeezed tight.

"What happened?" Finding the child's grip to be stronger than she would have thought, the older girl managed to pick her up with a small grunt. As she looked at the other two girls in the room, Tara found Buffy staring at her, a grin on her face.

"I think you can see that for yourself."

"H-How-"

"How did she turn herself into a five year old?" Interrupting the other girl, Dawn's own face held a smile as she watched the child continuing to hug the girl holding her. "She locked herself in your…_her_ room for a few days, and then we heard a loud sound, and when we got the door open, we found five–year old Willow."

"She turned herself into a child?" Again looking down at the girl she held in her arms, Tara didn't know what to feel or what to say. Should she be angry? Sad? Happy? Confused? Nothing was making any sense. "This isn't good."

"You think that we don't know that?" Her eyes focused solely on Tara, Buffy smiled. "She's happier now that you're here though."

"Did you ask her what spell she did?"

"We tried, but she didn't know what we were talking about. It's like she's truly turned back into a kid. She barely understood what we asked her."

"Not like we could really talk to her since she was crying for you the entire time we were trying." Dawn mumbled under her breath.

"…Did the clothes come with her?"

"Be lucky that my mom never threw away any of our old clothes, and that I haven't gone through all of them yet."

"I missed you, Tara." A wide smile continuing to adorn her face, Willow kissed the older girl's cheek. "Missed you, missed you, missed you."

_"Aww…"_ Unable to stop herself from emitting a sound of amusement, Dawn covered her mouth with her hand. Chuckling slightly, a smile of her own came to her face. "See, she's not crying anymore. We couldn't get her to stop before."

"What are we going to do?" Frowning even as the child she held started to play with her blonde hair, Tara looked at the two other faces in the room. "We can't just leave her like this."

"We looked in the room, and the spell-book that was open had nothing but blank pages in it."

"That means that w-when she cast the spell, it erased itself from the book." Shifting the weight in her hands, the blonde girl sighed. "No, definitely not good."

"No offense, but I kinda think that this might be a little better than what you're thinking."

"How?" Shocked, Tara couldn't understand the point that Dawn was trying to make.

"I think I know. " Interrupting her, Buffy pushed a few strands of her hair behind her ear before continuing. "Tara, Willow doesn't even understand what Magick is anymore. Do you really think she's going to hurt anyone the way she is right now?"

Still observing the confusion on the other girl's face, Buffy sighed. "Besides, she loves you."

"Buffy…"

"Maybe we should go the Magick Box and see if Anya has any books that match the one Willow used." Getting back onto her feet, Dawn gestured towards the door with her head. "Don't you think, Buffy?"

"Wha…oh…yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Can't have Willow stuck as a five year old any longer than need be." Already on her feet, the Slayer started towards the door with her sister hot on her heels. Managing to get past the other girl without much argument, the two Summers girls opened the door and gave one last look at Tara and Willow.

"We'll be back later. Just watch her, Tara. Don't want her to get hurt and all." As Buffy and Dawn closed the door behind them, Tara finally found the words she had been searching for.

"Wait…" Unable to stop the door from closing, she sighed as she heard the unmistakable sound of the wooden object closing in place. Sighing again, she took a few steps into the living room before she heard the child in her arms speak.

"I love you, Tara." Willow said, her words and tone obviously affected by her undeveloped vocal chords. Unable to stop herself from smiling, the older girl made her way over to the nearby couch, and leaned back into the piece.

"I love you too, sweetie." As she sat down, Tara let the child squirm her way into a sitting position next to her. Reaching out and resting her hand on the girl's cheek, the blonde sighed again. "What did you do to yourself?"

"I gave you a hug." Smiling widely once more, Willow leaned her body fully into Tara's side.

"No honey, I mean what spell did you cast?"

"I made these pretty colors come out of my finger. Aunt Buffy didn't like it." Still, that contagious smile refused to falter, even for the faintest of seconds.

"You don't remember?"

"I remember that I love you. Bunches and bunches."

"This is important, sweetie, what spell did you do?"

"This one." Raising her finger, the red-head smiled even wider as a small stream of pink light shot out of the digit and flew towards the ceiling. As it exploded harmlessly, the child laughed in amusement.

"That's not something you should do. Magick isn't a toy."

"I know, I'm sorry." Hugging the older girl one more time, the red-head frowned. "Don't go away again. I don't like it when you go away and I can't find you."

"I won't. Not till you get bigger." Unsure of what else to say, Tara closed her eyes as she felt the child's form continuing to snuggle into her side. Her mind truly didn't know how to feel about having to watch Willow while she was like this. It hurt to hear her say that she didn't like it when 'she went away', which she knew could only mean the night she had left her. Even if the event had been reduced to a child's understanding, the girl still knew what had happened. To think that she might have hurt a child made the older girl's chest ache slightly.

Opening her eyes, she looked down at the girl, and found a pair of green eyes staring up at her, a frown still on the child's face. From somewhere deep inside her, the blonde felt a need to make the girl smile again, the concern seeming almost…motherly. As she watched the child continuing to frown, she tried to remember something that would cheer the girl up.

"I wonder…"

"What are you wondering, Tara?" Furrowing her brow, the red-head looked back at the older girl with curiosity lacing her eyes.

"I'm wondering…if you're still ticklish on your tummy!" Reaching out, the blonde started to tickle the child's stomach, causing the sound of laughter to fill the room. Falling over onto her back, Willow continued to laugh as the hand-me-down shirt she was wearing tugged up slightly. Seeing the exposed skin, Tara's fingers pounced on it. As she kept laughing, the red-head could no longer keep herself from smiling.

"Tara, stop!" She managed to say amongst her laughter.

"Make me." Her fingers' assault refusing to falter, Tara smiled as the tiny girl squirmed underneath her touch, the thoughts of how much the girl might remember about their breakup forgotten for the moment.

"Tara!"

"Alright." Finally lifting her fingers from the child's stomach, the blonde continued to smile. "All better?"

"Yes." Giggling, Willow smiled back at the older girl. "Don't do that again."

"Why not? You're laughing."

"Because it tickles!"

"Alright, alright." Rolling her eyes playfully, the blonde leaned back into the couch as the child scrambled back to be at her side. "I don't know we're going to do with you then…"

"I could hug you some more." Still smiling widely, the red-head curled herself into the older girl's side. "Or kiss you."

"There has to be something else you want to do. Not that I don't like your hugs and kisses."

"We could go outside where it's sunny!" Hopping down onto her feet, Willow grabbed the blonde's hand in an attempt to make her get up.

"Do you even have any shoes?" Looking down at the child's bare feet, Tara frowned slightly. "I don't want you to get dirty and then come back in the house."

"No…Aunt Buffy said she couldn't find me any…" Closing her eyes for a moment, the blonde sighed. _I'm going to regret this…_

"Alright, we'll go outside. But only to the backyard, and when we come in, you're going to take a bath."

"Ok!" Pulling on the older girl's hand even harder, Willow virtually led her towards the back door of the house. Just barely able to reach the doorknob, she turned and opened it. As she let the child lead her out the door and onto the porch, Tara continued to push any negative thoughts out of her mind. Until they found the spell to change Willow back, this was how she was going to stay.

_I might as well try and enjoy this..._

* * *

As she finished pulling the other girl's shirt down over her chest, Tara tried her best not to cave into the red-head's bellyaching. All of it had started as soon as she had made the girl come back into the house, even if they had been outside for numerous hours and the sun was finally beginning to set.

"But I'm not…" Even as she spoke, the red-head betrayed herself by yawning. "…tired."

"Yes, you are. Come on, off to bed." As she stepped out of the bathroom with the child in front of her, Tara gave her a playful swat on her bottom, causing the older girl to smile as the gesture made the younger girl move into their room even faster. Buffy and Dawn had yet to return, despite being gone for almost the entire day. _Maybe I should charge them for babysitting… _Chuckling a little bit, the blonde followed the child's path into the bedroom, her eyes catching sight of the red-head struggling to pull herself up onto the bed due to difference in height.

"I think the bed's a little too big for you."

"No it's not!" Obviously infuriated by her inability to climb into the bed, Willow finally stopped and crossed her arms across her chest. "I just don't wanna go to bed."

"Come on, into bed." Gently plucking the child up, Tara continued to smile as she saw the red-head's pout refusing to waver. "Keep pouting, you're still going to bed."

"I told you I'm not tired."

"You don't think I can tell when you're lying?"

"No, you can't." Her arms still crossed even as the older girl pulled the sheets over top of her, Willow frowned when Tara kissed her forehead. "Are you going to go away again?"

"Do you want me to?"

"No. I get sad when I can't find you."

"Alright…I guess I can stay the night. Buffy and Dawn aren't back yet anyway, so I can't just leave you here by yourself." As a smile returned to the child's face, Tara couldn't help but smile back. She couldn't say that she was happy that Willow's abuse of Magick had turned her back into a child, but in a way, she was enjoying this. With her child-like mind, the red-head had virtually no interest in using Magick, and only competed for the older girl's complete attention. It reminded her of the more gentle moments in their relationship, before Glory had arrived…

"Yay!" The smile continuing to widen on her face, the red-head held out her arms in order to hug the other girl.

"How many hugs are you going to give me?" Laughing, the blonde girl nevertheless allowed the younger girl to hug her once more.

"Lots and lots!"

"Well, you need to go to sleep. You can hug me all you want tomorrow."

"_Tara? Willow?" _As the sound of Buffy's voice echoed up through the hallway and into the room, Tara gave a small smile at the child lying on the bed below her.

"Go to sleep. Aunt Buffy and Aunt Dawn need to talk to me."

"Will you come back when you're done?"

"I will. Just try and sleep." Giving the girl one last kiss, Tara turned off the lamp and made her way downstairs.

* * *

"I take it you two had fun?" Snickering, Buffy ignored the other girl's stare as she started to unpack some of the food that lay in the various bags she and Dawn had brought in. "The trail of dirt on the floor kinda gives it away."

"Buffy, did you find out how to reverse the spell?"

"Anya couldn't find it in any of the volumes she had at the store, but she's going to keep looking." Making her way around Tara with the last of the bags in her hands, Dawn smiled. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Why are you two so calm about this? Willow's turned herself into a child, and you're acting like it's a normal thing. "

"Because, I don't think there's really a problem, other than the fact that there's a five year old running around the house. After what she did to all of us with the memory wipe thing, maybe we should leave her like this for a while."

"W-What does Giles think about this?"

"We didn't ask him. He's leaving soon anyway, Tare, why should we bother him?" There was a slight tone of bitterness in the Slayer's tone, but she shook her head, and as quickly as it had appeared, the tone was gone. "We should just keep it between all of us, and Xander and Anya."

"Buffy, you can't be serious about this!" Finally letting all of her pent up frustration out, Tara shook her head. "How are we supposed to take care of her like this?"

"You were with her the whole day and you're still here."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Tara, how much will it hurt you to let her be like this for a couple of days, or even a few weeks?" Perking up her eyebrow, Buffy waited for the other girl's answer.

"It wouldn't…but that doesn't change the fact that-"

"Tara, I know she hurt you, and I'm not trying to say that she should be forgiven for all of that. But you leaving _broke_ her." Interrupting the blonde girl before she could finish her sentence, the Slayer leaned back against the countertop behind her. "She wouldn't even talk to us about what happened. Even if it was as a five year old, today was the first time I've seen her smile in days. She still loves you."

"Buffy, she's just a kid now, she doesn't understand what love is…"

"Explain why she wouldn't stop crying until we had you come over then, if she doesn't love you." A response already coming to her tongue, Tara had barely begun to speak before she heard a wobbly voice echo through the room.

"Tara?" Turning on her heel, the blonde girl could see Willow standing in the doorway, her green eyes looking up at her as she fidgeted where she stood.

"Willow, what are you doing out of bed?" Her tone softening, Tara could see that the younger girl appeared to be only moments away from crying. _How much did she hear? _

"I couldn't sleep. It was too dark."

"I'm sorry, come here." Kneeling down and opening her arms, the older girl let the child run into her arms. As she picked the other girl up, Tara turned to face the other two people in the room. "Can we finish this in the morning?"

"Sure. Sleep tight Willow." Waving at the younger girl, Buffy smiled.

"Night, Aunt Buffy." Giving a tired wave in response, the red-head leaned her head against the other girl's shoulder.

"Night, Willow." Giving a wave of her own, Dawn resumed going through the bags that she and her sister had brought in. Considering their slim income, she was surprised that they had managed to buy as much as they did. Still, it beat living on the crumbs of the numerous amounts of fast-food that ended up being passed around at the Scooby meetings.

* * *

As she slowly climbed the stairs with the smaller girl still clinging to her chest, Tara suppressed a sigh as she cleared the last stair. Her head resting on the blonde' shoulder, Willow closed her eyes as her tired body started to give out on her. Moving her hands slightly in an attempt to stay awake, she felt the older girl's hair glide across her fingertips.

"I'm sorry, honey, I should have left a light on. I forgot that you told me you were afraid of the dark when you were younger." Setting the half-asleep girl down on the bed, and again covering her with the sheets, Tara kissed her forehead. "Just go to sleep, I'll be right beside you."

"Promise?"

"I promise." As she climbed into the bed, Tara wrapped her arm around the child's stomach. "See, I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm still...not…tired…" Her body finally forcing her to close her eyes, Willow soon felt the sensations of Tara's touch beginning to fade away as her mind started to go black. Moving her tiny fingers over the other girl's hand one more time, the red-head finally gave into her body's need for sleep.


	2. Questions

**Thanks to those who have reviewed so far. You guys and gals are awesome :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Tara?" As she felt the last threads of her dream slip away, Tara could feel someone gently shaking her body as she continued to lay against the warm sheets beneath her. "Tara? Tara, wake up."

"Willow?" Opening her tired eyes, the blonde could see a pair of green eyes staring at her through her sleep-stained pupils. "What's wrong?"

"I'm hungry." Rubbing her eyes, the blonde shook her head slightly as she felt a yawn beginning to work its way up through her system.

"What time is it?" Lifting her head, the older girl continued to feel her mind screaming out for more sleep. The only source of blinding light in the entire room was the lamp at the bed's side, and the bright bulb made her turn away for a moment as she waited for her eyes to adjust.

"The clock says six."

"Six _A.M.?" _Groaning slightly, Tara let her head collapse back onto the warm pillow that had lain against her head the entire night. "It's too early to get breakfast. Go back to sleep, honey."

"But I'm hungry _now." _Opening her eyes once more, she could see the younger girl starting to pout at her. _Goddess, why does that always work on me?"_

"If I go get you something, can you eat in bed? I'm still sleepy."

"Ok."

"Alright." Managing to force her body up onto her feet, Tara could already tell that the clock hadn't been read wrong. The sun still wasn't up outside, and the streetlights that lined the sidewalk were the only source of light to the outside world. "What do you want?"

"Cereal." Smiling as she sat up in bed, Willow watched as the other girl left the room, still in her half-asleep state. Remembering that she hadn't told the older girl what she wanted to drink, the red-head shouted out after her. "And orange juice!"

* * *

"A little early for breakfast, don't you think?" As she stumbled into the kitchen, Dawn gave a loud yawn, her sentence barely out of her mouth as she did so.

"Willow was hungry, so she woke me up." Pouring some of the cereal into a waiting bowl, Tara gave a yawn herself. "She said she didn't want to go back to sleep."

"At least she didn't wake Buffy up. She's not the nicest Slayer when someone interrupts her post-patrol sleep."

"Dawn, I have to ask." As she set the box down onto the countertop, the blonde rubbed her eyes once more before continuing with her question. "Are you really ok with Willow being stuck like this?"

"Like Buffy said, I don't really see the problem. Except that she's waking both of us up at six in the morning."

"I won't be getting used to that anytime soon. Can you pour me some orange juice?" Sliding the glass across the counter to the other girl, Tara gave another yawn. "But really, we're not really prepared to take care of her like this. I mean, Buffy did say that you still have clothes that she could use, but other than that, we don't have anything to keep her entertained."

"Besides you, that is." Opening the fridge, Dawn sleepily pulled the container of orange juice out of its place and began to pour the liquid into the glass. "She was really excited to see you."

"There's only so much of me to go around."

"Still, it's better than nothing." As she handed the filled glass to the other girl, the younger Summers sister leaned back against the countertop. "Breakfast in bed? Geez, way to treat her like a queen."

"I could have let her run all over the house." Smiling slightly, Tara picked a few pieces of the cereal out of the bowel and pushed them into her mouth. "W-Would that have been better?"

"What did I just say about a cranky Slayer being a bad Slayer?"

"Still, what are we going to do about the entertainment part of all of this? Plus, did you and Buffy find her some shoes yet? I don't want her to track dirt and mud all over the floor."

"Tara, you sound like you're her mom." Chuckling slightly, the brunette poured herself some of the orange juice. "Are you going to put her in the corner if she's bad?"

"Dawn, please, can you be serious?"

"Alright, _Ms. Rosenberg-Maclay_." Giving one more round of chuckles, Dawn finally managed to bring herself under control. "Alright, I'm done."

"Thanks." Sighing, the blonde girl closed her eyes. "If you had told me that if I left Willow, she would turn herself into a kid, I wouldn't have believed it."

"Tara, I'm probably not going to be the only one to ask this, but is there any way you can forgive her for what she did?"

"I…I don't know. It still hurts to know that she was doing that to me without even properly thinking about it. To think that she could do that to me, even after what I went through w-with Glory…I just don't know."

"Do you still love her?" As she heard the girl's question swimming through her head, Tara felt her heart jumping to say 'yes', but the word 'no' continued to linger on the edge of her tongue.

"It doesn't matter. The kind of Magick she was using is something beyond her control. She just can't see that. Until she does, it won't work."

"Then you talk to her, you make her see that! Tara, you can't just walk out of her life. Angel did that to Buffy, and I still hear her whispering his name in her sleep sometimes. You know why? Because they didn't stop loving each other, they just stopped _trying_."

"Dawnie, you're too young…"

"Don't pull that on me! You still love Willow, and she feels the same...except that it's kinda in a five-year old's understanding of it at the moment."

"I should bring her breakfast. She's not very patient anymore."

"Tara…"

"Dawn, please…just stop." As she sat the bowel and glass down onto a waiting tray, Tara forced herself to show a face that was as close to normal as she possibly could. Opening her mouth to say something else, the younger Summers girl swallowed the words once she saw the other girl's face. Leaving the kitchen, the blonde tried to focus on the breaths she was taking, not wanting to even consider crying for the slightest second. Filling her mind with images of the young child waiting for her to bring in her breakfast, the girl gave a final sigh before she mounted the stairs. In her present state, there wasn't anything Willow could do to change herself back to her normal age.

Until they found the right spell, she needed someone to take care of her, and she wanted no-one except Tara.

* * *

"Here you go. Cereal and orange juice." As she walked into the room, her eyes still focused on the tray in her hands, Tara hoped that Willow would have stayed put and waited in bed for her. But as she entered the room, she found the other girl jumping up and down on the mattress, her red hair bouncing up and down along with her body as it was propelled into the air for a short distance.

"Willow, stop!" As she set the tray down on the nearby desk, the blonde frowned.

"But it's fun!" Smiling to herself, Willow continued to jump up and down.

"Willow Rosenberg, get down _now!_" Raising her voice and tone slightly, the sound of the combination surprised even Tara herself. Fear momentarily overwhelming her eyes and stance, the red-head stopped and dropped down into a sitting position on the mattress.

"Don't do that, you'll wake up Buffy."

"I'm sorry, Tara." Frowning, the red-head crawled back into the place she had been sleeping all of the previous night. As she watched the child almost cowering from hearing her yell at her, Tara frowned and lifted the tray from the desk.

"It's alright, I'm sorry I yelled. Don't do it again." As she set the tray down onto the child's waiting lap, the blonde pulled up a nearby chair and eased her tired body down into it.

"Tara, will you play with me later? Mom and Dad always say they're too busy." As she shoved a spoonful of the cereal into her mouth, the child continued to stare back at the other girl.

"What?" As she stared at the other girl in disbelief, Tara's mind frantically raced to remember even the smallest instance where the red-head had mentioned her parents. Throughout their entire relationship, they had chosen not to mention either of their parents, and instead focus on knowing each other. "You mean they were too busy for you?"

Nodding her head, Willow frowned as she saw the reaction her question was having on the other girl.

"I'm sorry, Tara, I didn't mean to make you sad."

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry."

"I like it here with you more." Her messy red-hair still falling around her face, Willow offered the older girl a small smile. "I love you."

"I love you too." Leaning forward in order to give the child a small kiss on her cheek, Tara sighed. _You can't stay like this forever though… _"Come on, finish eating. You're going back to sleep as soon as you're done. It's too early to get up and do things."

"What if I can't go back to sleep?"

"Then you can go downstairs and play with Dawn. I'm still sleepy."

"Did I wake her up?" For a single moment, Tara again saw a flash of fear in the child's eyes. _What does she think I'm going to do to her? _

"No, I did. Aunt Buffy is still sleeping though, and she's not happy when she gets waken up."

"What would happen if I woke her up?" Shoving another mouthful of the cereal into her mouth, the red-head waited somewhat patiently for an answer.

"She would be mad at you."

"Would she s-spank me?" As she stuttered, Willow swallowed somewhat hard. Staring at the child, Tara resisted the urge to snicker. _So that's what she's afraid of…_

"No, I wouldn't let her."

"You wouldn't?"

"No." Shaking her head, Tara leaned back into the chair. "Finish your food, you won't eat it if it gets too soggy. I know you."

* * *

"_Taraaaa_…" Continuing to whine, Willow kept frowning as the older girl carried her into the bedroom. She had been outside most of the day once more, only this time Tara had decided to forgo giving her a bath, considering that Buffy had finally managed to find an older pair of shoes in one of the countless boxes packed away in the basement.

"Willow, please just go to sleep for a while." As she laid the other girl down onto the bed, Tara sighed from the exhaustion she felt coursing through her system. "I'm too worn out to do anything else."

"But the sun's still out!"

"Honey, I told you, we're going out later. I don't want you to fall asleep at the restaurant."

"But I'm-"

"I know, you're not tired. But can you try? For me?" As she spoke, the blonde unfolded a nearby blanket. "Please?"

"…Alright." Allowing the older girl to cover her up, Willow still kept frowning.

"Try to sleep." Repeating the phrase, the blonde girl gave the child a kiss on the cheek and left the room. Watching her leave, the red-head sighed, and rolled over onto her side. Tara's words still echoing through her head, Willow closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep.

* * *

"So, Willow finally fell asleep on you?" As she pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge, Buffy watched as Tara made her way into the kitchen and virtually collapsed at the countertop.

"Buffy, I don't understand how anyone can have that much energy."

"She's a kid. I don't think anyone likes to take naps when they're her age, Tara."

"She was less work when she was her _normal _age!" Resting her head against the cool counter top, Tara heard the other girl set something down in front of her.

"Just drink the water and breathe." Looking up from where she had been resting her head, the blonde took the offered water and unscrewed the cap. "You're getting too worked up over this whole thing."

"Buffy, why don't you try putting her down for a nap next time?" Her tone a mixture of both anger and frustration, Tara took a large gulp of the bottle.

"No thanks, I think you've got that covered."

"Thanks." As she set the bottle down onto the counter, the blonde handed the Slayer back the bottle. "I needed that."

"You're welcome. Still, maybe you should consider getting some sleep yourself. You look kinda tired."

"Trying to get her to sleep will do that to you."

"Tara…we need to talk about Willow."

"Did Dawn put you up to this?" Narrowing her eyes at the other girl, Tara prepared herself for the question she knew was coming.

"No…why, did she ask you about this?"

"This morning."

"Well, guess she beat me to it." The joke coming out as dry and emotionless, Buffy leaned herself back against the fridge. "I'm not going to pretend like you're not angry at her in some-way. And you have every right to be. What Willow did wasn't right, and it never will be. But she's not evil."

"I never said she was."

"But I see the way you look at her sometimes, and that's what you're looking at her as. Not now, since she turned herself into a kid, but before, when you would walk by the house."

"How…"

"Tara, I'm a Slayer. I could hear you coming." Smiling slightly, the Slayer soon dropped the gesture as she returned to seriousness of the conversation. "She needs you, now more than ever. When we reverse the spell, she's going to probably remember everything, and if you leave her again, it'll hurt her even worse than it did the first time."

"Buffy…I…I can't be with her, not so soon after what she did. Do you realize how much that hurt me? To know that she was erasing part of my memory?"

"And after what Glory did to you, it was even worse." Her gaze momentarily falling to the ground, Buffy's eyes rose once more to focus on the other girl. "Tara, I think she was scared. You mean more to her than anything. When she talked about you before, her eyes would light up, even more than they did when she was with Oz. The idea of losing you nearly drove her over the edge."

"And what happens if she had gone over? What do you think she would have done?"

"I don't know, and I kinda don't wanna find out."

"So, what are you suggesting?" Perking up her brow, Tara crossed her arms across her chest.

"When we change her back, just come visit her. Make sure that she doesn't get the message that you're still together. She needs someone who understands what she's addicted to."

"But I'm not as strong as she is, I don't have anywhere near…"

"You have enough. She doesn't need someone that's on her same level, she just needs someone who _knows_."

"What about you?"

"I'm not that strong. I can barely even keep my friends together."

"Oh, Buffy, no, that's not true…"

"Tara, all I'm asking you to do is when this is all over, just talk to her."

" I don't know if I can…it's hard."

"That's life." As the memories of what she had said to Angel that night years ago, Buffy felt the pain of that memory slip back into her heart. "It's hard, and it's every day. But you keep waking up, and you get through it. That's all you can do."

* * *

"Willow, it's time to get up." Gently shaking the red-head's shoulder, Tara smiled as the child buried her head underneath the blanket that covered her. "Come on, wake up."

"Too sleepy." _When she needs to go to sleep, she wants to stay awake. When she needs to get up, she wants to sleep. Figures. _As she pulled the blanket away from the girl's face, the older girl couldn't help but notice how messy Willow's hair was.

"Honey, come on, wake up." Continuing to shake the child's shoulder, the blonde smiled when the red-head finally opened her eyes. "It's time to go, you need to get up."

"But I don't wanna get up." Shutting her eyes again, Willow covered part of her face with her arm.

"Come on, up you go." As Tara picked her up, the red-head rested her head against the blonde's shoulder, her mind still begging her to go back to sleep. "We have to go, and you're getting up."

"_Tara_…"

"No arguing." Stepping out into the hallway, the older girl carried the child into the bathroom, stopping for only a moment in order to grab a hair-brush.

"I thought we were going somewhere." Her eyes still closed, Willow felt something going through her red-hair, but her still half-asleep mind refused to identify what it was.

"We are, but you're not going out with your hair looking like it is."

"Ok…" Starting to doze off once more, the red-head linked her arms around Tara's neck.

"Willow?" As she said the child's name, the blonde felt her snuggling into her shirt. "Honey, stay awake."

"But you wanted me to sleep…"

"Earlier, you've been asleep for an hour."

"No, you just left…" Chuckling softly, Tara finished combing the girl's messy hair and made her way out of the bathroom.

"No, you've been sleeping for an hour now." Her cheek still resting against the blonde's warm shoulder, Willow closed her eyes even further when a stray beam of sunlight made its way through the window and hit her face.

"Too bright."

"She still not ready?" As she waited by the door, Buffy held the keys to the jeep in her hand.

"She just hasn't woke up yet. Come on, let's go." Gesturing towards the door, the blonde girl waited for Buffy to open the door for her, not wanting to let Willow out of her grip. As they made their way out of the house, the three girls found the surrounding neighborhood to be almost surreally quiet. Managing to open the back door of the vehicle with one hand, Tara gently set the red-head down into the back seat. Her eyes still closed, Willow showed only the faintest sense of knowing what was going on around her as the older girl buckled her into the seat.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive?" As she climbed into the passenger seat of the jeep, Tara looked slightly afraid as Buffy turned on the vehicle.

"No, it's fine. You don't trust me?"

"It's not that. Willow…she kinda told me about your driving…"

"And that means…?" Staring at the other girl strangely, Buffy slipped the vehicle into gear.

"She didn't say good things."

"Why?" Turning around in order to watch the street as she started to back the vehicle up, the Slayer waited for the other girl's answer.

"She didn't want to go into detail."

"I wonder why... " As the Slayer pulled out them into the street and the vehicle fell into motion, Tara looked back at the still half-asleep child buckled into the back seat.

"Willow, sweetie, don't fall asleep."

"Why?"

"Because you're not in the room anymore, you're in the jeep."

"Where are we going?" _When she falls asleep, she really stays that way…_

"To get something to eat." Hearing Buffy snickering beside her, the blonde turned her head slightly. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"Is Xander going to be there?" Finally beginning to awaken from her sleep-drenched state, Willow fully opened her green eyes.

"Yes, he and Anya are going to meet us there." Offering the child a smile, Tara saw the other girl frown slightly.

"I don't like Anya. She talks too much."

"I know you don't. But she's who Xander is with, no sense in arguing about it."

"She talks about her money too much." As the comment left the girl's lips, Buffy finally found herself unable to hold back any of her laughter.

"Buffy…"

"I'm alright, really!" Still chuckling underneath her breath, the Slayer realized the other girl was still staring at her. "What?"

"You just ran a red-light."

_"Damn it."_ Looking behind them to make sure that no-one was following them, Buffy pushed herself a little further into the driver's seat. "Ok, not really proving that I'm a good driver right now, aren't I?"

"Not really…"

"Are you sure Willow didn't tell you why she didn't like my driving?"

"I'm sure."

"I still don't understand why, I'm not that bad. I just make mistakes every once in a while."


	3. Protecting And Flowers

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. **

* * *

**Chapter 3**

As they pulled up to the restaurant, the three girls could already see Xander and Anya waiting for them. The restaurant itself was hardly busy, which was strange considering the time of day that it was. Usually, considering how much people liked to dine before the sun finally set and brought on the night, the parking lot would be filled to the brim with cars packed in together.

"Are we there?" Willow asked, her voice echoing up to the front of the vehicle.

"Yes, sweetie, we're here." As she opened the door, Tara helped the other girl out of the back seat.

"Xander!" Catching sight of her oldest friend, the red-head rushed towards him.

"Hey there, Wills." Letting the child hug his leg, Xander smiled.

"I missed you." Smiling, Willow looked up at him. "Not as much as Tara though."

"Geez, I can't really compete with you, can I?" Offering the blonde girl a smile, Xander felt the red-head let go of his leg.

"Hello Xander." Waving slightly nervously, Tara felt Willow grab ahold of her hand once more. "How have you been?"

"Fine, how about yourself?"

"I've been alright. Willow's been keeping me busy." As Buffy finally exited the jeep and made her way around to the group, she sighed.

"I can't believe I ran a red-light."

"I'm pretty sure that the cops wouldn't take 'I'm on official Slayer' business as a real answer." The joke managed to draw a small laugh from Buffy, whose mood seemed to lighten slightly.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Here Wills, I figured I'd get you something." Reaching into the front seat of the car, Xander pulled out something that made Anya begin to inch away.

"A bunny!" As she took the stuffed animal into her hands, Willow's face lit up with happiness.

"What do you say, Willow?" Smiling down at the child, Tara rested her hand on the red-head's shoulder.

"Thank you, Xander."

"I still don't understand why you got her something that represents death and the destruction of all happiness." With Xander having let go of the stuffed animal, Anya resumed her usual place at his side. "Why would that make a child happy?"

"Anya, we've been through this. It's a stuffed animal, not a real rabbit."

"It still looks like one."

"I like it, Anya." Sticking out her tongue at the former vengeance demon, Willow heard both Xander and Buffy beginning to laugh at her response.

"Willow, that wasn't nice." Frowning down at the child, Tara dropped down to her knees for a moment and looked at the younger girl. "Say you're sorry."

"I'm sorry, Tara." Giving the older girl a kiss on her cheek, Willow held onto the gift in her hands just a little tighter.

"Not to me, to _Anya."_

"But I don't wanna."

_"Say. You're. Sorry."_ Strengthening her tone, Tara waited for the girl to apologize. Seeing how serious the older girl was, Willow sighed and turned her gaze towards where Anya was standing.

"I'm sorry, Anya."

"Should I accept her expression of being sorry?" Anya whispered into Xander's ear, her eyes trying to avoid looking at the stuffed bunny the red-head held in her hands.

"Anya, she probably didn't know what she was saying. Accept it."

"I accept your apology, Willow. I only ask that you keep the evil being you hold in your tiny hands away from me." Offering the small child a slightly nervous smile, the former vengeance demon remained firmly rooted to the spot where she was standing.

"Alright." Mumbling some-what underneath her breath, Willow turned back towards Tara. "Can we go eat now?"

"Yeah, I agree with the Willster. I'm hungry enough to eat a horse and then some." Clapping his hands together, Xander smiled.

"Don't get too full. You won't want to have sex later." Covering Willow's ears as she heard Anya's comment, Tara frowned.

"Anya, not in front of Willow."

"It's not like she doesn't know that Xander and I have sex almost every night. I've told her about it before."

"Anya!" Turning around, the expression on Xander's face was a cross between shock, embarrassment, and anger.

"Still, she doesn't remember any of that. Don't put it in her head now."

"She's just going to remember everything you two did when we change her back, so what does it matter?"

"It matters to me!" Unsure of why she was getting so upset at the former vengeance demon, Tara closed her eyes for a moment and breathed out. As she opened her eyes once more, she removed her hands from Willow's ears. "Just don't do it again."

"Alright, alright. I figured you lesbians would be alright with me talking about that kind of stuff." Rolling her eyes, Buffy leaned back against the jeep.

"Alright, Anya, we understand. You and Xander like to express your love in a physical way. Been there, done that."

"But don't all of your boyfriends turn evil or leave?" As she finished her sentence, Anya felt Xander's hand cover her mouth.

"Alrighty, so…how about that food?"

* * *

As she devoured the last shred of food on her plate, Willow leaned her head against Tara's waist and closed her eyes.

"Are you full, honey?"

"Yep." Her arms falling on top of the older girl's knee, the red-head pulled her knees up onto the booth's seat.

"Don't fall asleep in here, you can do that out in the car."

"I find it funny that she can't stay awake anymore." Anya said, smiling slightly before she took another sip of her drink.

"She's younger, her body can't handle staying up as late." Answering the other girl's question, Buffy continued to toy with the food in front of her.

"You ok, Buff? You've been playing with those fries for about half an hour now." Looking at the Slayer's plate, Xander turned his gaze onto her.

"Uh? Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not really that hungry right now."

"I thought so. You didn't order as much as the rest of us. Even Willow ate more than you, and she's a kid." Catching the Slayer's glare, Anya rolled her eyes. "I just said what all of us were thinking."

"Tara, are we going home soon?" Her head still snuggled onto Tara's leg, Willow's voice echoed up to the older girl's ears.

"Yes, as soon as everyone else is done eating."

"How long will that take? I'm sleepy."

"I don't know, just try to stay awake." Running her hand through the child's hair, Tara pushed another piece of her food into her mouth.

"I can take her out to the car, if you want. I'm kinda tired myself." Finally setting her fork down, Buffy took a sip of her own drink.

"No, it's fine." As she felt Willow continuing to snuggle into her side, the blonde smiled. "She's not bothering me."

"Alright. I'm gonna go out there then. Figured I'd get a little fresh air." Pushing herself away from the table, Buffy pulled the keys to the jeep out of her pocket and headed towards the door.

"I don't think she's adjusting to this whole thing very well." As she returned her attention to her food, Anya felt every other set of eyes at the table turn towards her.

"Anya, we ripped her out of_ Heaven_. That's not just something you get over."

"Xander, Anya, Willow's right here. She can hear you." Covering the red-head's open ear, Tara frowned at the other girl.

"But she probably doesn't remember doing the spell. If anything, she doesn't realize we're talking about her."

"Anya, just stop." Her free hand still caressing the child's hair, Tara heard no response from Willow as the red-head continued to snuggle into her side. "I don't want her hearing any of this."

"You do realize that you're not her mother, right?" Still wanting to press the issue, Anya ignored the slightly angry gaze that Xander was giving her. "You're just the person she wants."

_"Anya, that's enough!"_ Raising his voice slightly, Xander still kept his voice low enough in order to avoid drawing any attention to the table. "Just drop it."

"Alright, alright. Fine." Rolling her eyes, the former vengeance demon picked up her fork and took another bite of her food.

"Tara?" Raising her head slightly, Willow looked up at the older girl with her green eyes. "Are we done yet?"

"I am. Come on, let's go out to the car." Upon hearing the other girl's response to her question, the red-head sleepily bounded out of the booth and onto her feet. As a smile came to her face, the child waited until Tara had made her way out of the booth before grabbing her hand. Her tiny fingers wrapping around the older girl's larger ones, Willow followed Tara as the two of them walked towards the door.

* * *

"Buffy?" As she called out the Slayer's name, Tara looked around the parking lot in an attempt to find where the other girl had gone off to. With Willow still holding onto her hand, she took a few further steps out onto the pavement, the jeep lying empty at her side. All around the two of them, the parking lot lay completely silent, save for the passing traffic on the nearby road. "Buffy?"

As if it was an answer, something threw the Slayer out of the shadows surrounding the sides of the restaurant and towards the hood of the jeep. Stepping away just before the other girl impacted upon the vehicle, Tara had already grabbed Willow and begun to back away towards Xander's vehicle. Unable to stop herself from looking at the figure emerging from the shadows, Willow's green eyes grew wide with shock and fear as she looked at the vampire.

"Tara, get inside!" As she yelled out the order at the other girl, Buffy was back on her feet and raising her fists in order to prepare herself for another attack from the vampire in front of her.

"Aww, leaving so soon?" Licking its lips, the vampire eyed both Tara and Willow with its hungry yellow eyes. "That's not nice."

"Trust me, I'm not here to be nice." Swinging her fist towards the demon's face, Buffy allowed herself to smile as her fist connected with the side of the vampire's face, causing something to break underneath the force of the blow. Stumbling backwards, the vampire spat blood from its mouth before settling its eyes once more onto the other two girls still trying to make their way around the fight. Wasting no time, the demon lunged for both Tara and Willow, the action making the child scream in complete and unrestrained terror.

"You know, I was going to make this quick for you." Sinking her nails into the back of the vampire's shirt, the Slayer pulled it back towards her, with the demon's body eventually coming to a stop on the wall of the restaurant. "But just because you made her scream, it's gonna be _slow."_

"Tara, make it go away!" Burying her face into the older girl's shoulder, Willow started to cry, the fear rushing through her veins overwhelming everything else in her body. Finding herself with nowhere to go, Tara looked frantically around the parking lot for any sort of cover. Seeing none within her immediate reach, the blonde turned just in time to see Buffy plunge a wooden stake through the vampire's heart, causing it to evaporate into nothing but dust. As she stood back up, the Slayer shoved the stake back into the loop of her belt.

"Are you alright?" She asked, making her way over to where Tara was still standing with a crying Willow held in her arms.

"We're fine." Looking down at the crying red-head she was holding, the blonde frowned. _"Ssshhh_, honey, its ok. It's gone now, see?"

"God, Tara, I'm sorry, I came out to the car, and there was one of them feeding on someone in the alley."

"Buffy, it's alright." Sighing, Tara continued to hold Willow close to her. "Maybe we should just go home. Xander and Anya are leaving soon anyway."

"Dawn will be home soon too. I'd really like not to leave her alone." Trying to fish her keys out of her pocket, Buffy felt somewhat happy that no-one had been around outside, save for the single person she had saved, who now was lying on the floor of the alley, somewhat drained but still alive.

"I want to go home." As tears continued to fall from her eyes, Willow looked at Buffy with a heartbreaking expression on her face. "Aunt Buffy, I want to go home."

"We are, just stop crying." Giving the child a kiss on her head, Tara stared at Buffy. "Let's go."

* * *

"It's alright, honey, nothing's going to hurt you." As the child continued to cling to her, Tara felt nothing but sorrow for what Willow must have been feeling after seeing the vampire outside of the restaurant. "Buffy's downstairs, and I'm not going anywhere."

Shaking her head, the red-head only continued to cling to the older girl's shirt even tighter as Tara carried her into the bedroom. She had finally barely managed to stop crying, after having stained the older girls' shirt slightly with her tears.

"Don't go."

"I won't, but you need to get ready for bed."

"I won't sleep, that thing was too scary, and it could hurt you. I love you, Tara, I don't want you to get hurt, I want you to stay here with me." As Tara set her down onto the bed, the red-head continued to babble, her head still buried into the blonde's shoulder.

"Can you try, for me? I promise that what you saw won't hurt you anymore." Pushing a few strands of the child's red-hair that had fallen into the child's face aside, the older girl sighed.

"I c-can t-t-try." Sniffling, Willow looked up at the other girl with her cheeks still stained slightly red from the tears she had been crying. Kissing the child's forehead, Tara smiled slightly.

"Good girl." Getting up for only a second in order to grab a pair of pajamas from the box sitting in the corner, the blonde could hear the red-head continuing to try and not cry. Again, it broke her heart to hear the effect that seeing Buffy fighting a vampire had done to the girl. Inside her mind, part of her felt the overwhelming need to change the girl back, just in order to make her stop crying. But with that idea came numerous reminders of why it was better, for the moment at least, to leave her like this.

"Tara?"

"Yes, honey?" Lifting her head from the box, Tara looked back at where the child was still sitting on the bed behind her.

"Does Aunt Buffy always fight them?"

"Always fight who?"

"Those monsters."

"That's her job." Getting back onto her feet with a pair of pajamas in her hand, Tara reached the edge of the bed, and knelt down in order to meet the red-head eye-to-eye. "She keeps all of us safe."

"Like a superhero?" The girl's comparison managing to bring a smile to her face, the blonde took the child's hand into her own.

"Y-you could say that."

"Does she ever get hurt?"

"Sometimes, but she gets better."

"But why does she look so sad? Did someone say something mean to her?" Again smiling at the girl's explanation of the events of the previous weeks, the blonde felt a small sadness inside her as the image of Willow performing the ritual to bring Buffy back came soaring back into her immediate thoughts.

"No, she was in a happy place, and then something came and brought her back here."

"Why did they do that?"

"See, they thought that she was in a bad place, and they brought her back. But it turns out that she was in a happy place, and she wanted to stay there."

"And that's why Aunt Buffy is sad?" Frowning, the red-head waited for the other girl's answer.

"That's why she's sad."

"Tara, when is she going to be happy again?"

"I don't know, honey, I don't know." Dropping her gaze from the child for a moment, Tara felt the red-head's fingers on her cheek. "I think it's time for you to go to bed."

"And you're not going away?"

"No, I'm staying." Seeing that her answer made the other girl smile, the blonde rose back to her full height. "Can't have you being alone."

* * *

As she watched the young red-head continue to play in the yard just beyond the porch, Tara could almost feel the conflict that continued to rage inside her. There was no way that she could just let Willow remain in her child-like state forever. Sooner or later, something would cause them to turn her back, be it Slayer-related or not. Until then, everyone else seemed content to just let the Witch be the five-year old she had turned herself into.

Everything the girl did made Tara smile, from the simplest matter of asking for something to every attempt she made to gain the older girl's attention. Magick was no longer a concern when it come to the two of them. Apart from the single display that she made on the first day, Willow had cast no spell, uttered no invocation, or even showed the faintest interest in where Buffy went out to at night. She had, for all intents and purposes, began to grow very identical to a child at the same age.

"She seems happy." As Xander slowly came out onto the porch, Tara looked up at him, her mind shaken out of her own thoughts.

"She does, doesn't she?" Her eyes drifting away from Xander, the blonde watched as the red-head continued to spin herself around in a circle, her laughter echoing throughout the entire yard.

"Kinda makes you sad when you realize we can't keep her like this forever."

"I know. Part of me w-wishes that we could. We wouldn't have to deal with her addiction." His own eyes focused on the playing child, Xander took a seat on the steps next to the blonde.

"Tara, I know that's why you left her, but isn't there a way you could have helped her?"

"Buffy and Dawn get to you too?"

"No, and even if they did, that's not why I'm doing this. I'm doing this because the Willster has been my friend ever since I can remember, and seeing her hurting hurts me." Finally taking his eyes off of the red-head playing out in the yard, Xander saw that Tara had done the same. "She loves you, probably more than I've ever seen her love anyone else."

"I know, but that's not why I left."

"You left because of what she did to you."

"Y-Yes." Pushing her locks of blonde hair behind her ear, Tara sighed. "She's too addicted to the Magick she uses."

"And trust me, I'm not saying in any way possible that what she did was right. There really was no need for her to go all Dark Side on us for a moment. But I think that she didn't want you to leave. What happened to the two of you the night before the whole 'We can't stop singing' thing happened?

"W-We were looking for Dawn, and we had a fight. She…she said things that hurt me."

"Then it's probably true that she regretted saying them. Trust me on that, it's happened before. When she gets angry and all red-eyed, she doesn't think about what she says."

"And then she…she put something under my pillow. It made me forget about what we had fought about."

_"Geez…"_ Momentarily at a loss for words, Xander fell silent. "Tara, I didn't know. I knew that she did that big mind wipe on all of us, but she did that before…?"

"She did. And…Goddess, it hurts to know she did that."

"I'm probably not the biggest expert on this 'big gay love' thing that the two of you are in, but it still sounds like she was afraid."

"That's what everyone keeps telling me. And it just keeps getting more and more 'normal', as if I couldn't see it before."

"Why couldn't you?"

"I was angry, at her, with me, with how everything has been since we brought Buffy back." Massaging her eyes with her thumbs, Tara sighed. "Everything's turned out so wrong."

"That's life though, isn't it? Things are happy one minute, and then an apocalypse decides to rear it's big ugly head, and then things aren't so happy anymore." The man's response making her chuckle slightly despite the seriousness of the conversation, Tara continued to listen. "And after that, all you can do is try to make things like they once were."

"How can I do that with her though? What she did, what she'll _still_ do when we change her back, it's not something I can just sweep under the rug and forget about. It's dangerous."

"Tara?" Looking up from where both she and Xander were sitting, Tara saw Willow offering her a handful of flowers. "I found these for you."

"I guess that's my cue to leave." Pushing himself back onto his feet, Xander cast a smile at the two girls before walking back into the house. Her full attention turning towards the red-headed child in front of her, Tara took the flowers being offered, and a smile came to her face.

"Do you like them?" The child asked, fidgeting somewhat as she stood in front of the older girl.

"Yes, I do." Continuing to smile as she took one of the white flowers into her other hand, Tara tucked it behind the child's ear. "But they look better on you."

"But I got them for _you._" Chuckling, Willow took one of the flowers out of the other girl's hand and likewise tucked it behind the older girl's ear. "You look pretty."

"So do you." Still pushing some of the flowers into the red-head's hair, Tara's face was still lined with a large smile. "Do you feel better today?"

"Uh-huh." Nodding, the child tucked another flower behind the older girl's opposite ear.

"Does Aunt Buffy make you feel safe?"

"A little bit." As she kissed Tara on the cheek, Willow smiled ear-to-ear. "You make me feel safe."

Her own smile growing even larger, Tara looked at the tiny girl in front of her.

"I'm glad."


	4. I'll Stay

**Alrighty, this is the last chapter. Thank all of you guys and gals for reviewing :D I hope you enjoy the last chapter and enjoyed the fic as a whole :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

As she looked down at the child sitting in front of her, Tara could still feel something tugging on her heart inside her chest. After three weeks, Anya had finally managed to find a copy of the spell book that Willow had used, and the spell had been intact. Even still, that didn't make the job of what was to come after the spell any easier. She knew what she was doing by changing Willow back into her normal self, what she would be giving up. She had taken a certain sense of joy and pleasure in taking care of the younger girl, and once she was returned to her normal age, everything would come crashing down again.

"Tara?" Looking up from the spell she was holding with her slightly shaky hands, the blonde met the child's green eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too, honey." Offering the child one last smile, Tara ripped her gaze away from the red-head and back to the spell in her hands.

"_The pain is gone, though the time is long_

_Return this child to the age she belongs."_

As the words left her lips, the blonde saw the lights from the candles surrounding the child beginning to flicker and finally detach themselves from the wicks they had once lit. Watching the lights circling around her body, Willow smiled as the lights' speed become to increase with each passing second. The brightness of the lights increasing as well, the spell finally completely overtook the child and momentarily overwhelmed the room. Once the lights began to evaporate, Tara found herself looking down at the form of a once more full grown Willow.

As she looked down at the red-head in front of her, Tara again didn't know what to feel.

"Tara?" As she said the other girl's name aloud, Willow looked around her in order to know where she was.

"W-What were you thinking?" Letting almost all of the anger she had bottled up over the previous weeks, the blonde saw the hurt still so fresh on the other girl's face.

"I…I just wanted the pain to go away."

"And so you used Magick again? Did you learn nothing from me leaving?"

"No, Tara, baby, I did. I couldn't even breathe without hurting. I couldn't stand being away from you. I can't stand…"

"W-Willow, do you even realize _why_ I left? You care more about using Magick than you do about the rest of us." Crossing her arms across her chest, the blonde found herself regretting turning the other girl back into her proper age. "You can't admit that the problem is _y-you."_

"Tara, please, just let me explain-"

"We tried this once, and it didn't work, remember?"

"_Please?" _As she saw a single tear fall from the red-head's eye, Tara unwillingly found herself nodding. Seeing her chance, Willow continued. "I..I was going to stop. Taking the pain away was going to be the last spell, and then I was going to stop, honest."

"How can I believe you?"

"Because I'm sorry, Tara, I'm sorry. I miss you so much." Looking down at the other girl, the blonde saw more tears beginning to fall down the red-head's cheek. "You're all I can think about."

"Do you realize what's wrong?" Shaking her head slightly, Tara struggled to keep herself from stuttering. "Honey, it's not you, it's what-"

"The Magicks, I know, Tara, I tried, it's so hard…"

"It's called addiction." As she said the word aloud, the blonde hoped that it would strike a chord within the other girl's brain.

"I…I need help." Struggling to stand up, Willow continued to look at the other girl with tears running down her cheeks. "Tara, please, help me."

"Willow…"

"Tara_, please_, don't leave me again." Finally managing to get onto her feet, the red-head kept her tear-stained eyes on the other girl. "God, please don't leave."

"I can't-"

"I promise, no more Magicks, I'll tell Anya and Buffy to take all the books and everything back. I can't do this…not without you." Taking a slow step towards Tara, Willow kept crying. "Tara…"

"Willow, I…I don't know what to do…"

_"Help me._ I have a problem, I'm an addict, a junkie, a loser, what do you want me to say?" As she stopped in her tracks, the red-head dropped down to her knees and grabbed onto Tara's knees. "I'm sorry, please, just stay with me."

As the red-head continued to sob into her legs, Tara could barely think straight. Inside her head, everything that Buffy, Dawn, and Xander had said to her over the past three weeks came rushing back, repeating over and over again in an endless cycle. With every single attempt her mind made to combat the things the other Scoobies had said, more and more she heard the red-head sobbing into her pants. Unable to reach any decision, she slowly reached out and began to run her fingers through the crying girl's hair.

"Tara, please, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"Willow, please, just stop crying." Easing herself down until she was face-to-face with the other girl, Tara pressed her hands against the red-head's tear-stained cheeks. "I'll…I'll stay."

"Tara, I'm sor-"

"I know, you're sorry." As she felt Willow's arms wrap around her back, the blonde started to help her back onto her feet. "I want you to listen to me."

"Tara-"

"_Listen. To. Me." _Doing her best to harden her eyes, Tara saw the other girl nod in response. "If you do one spell, say even a single word of an invocation, I w-will leave."

"I-"

"I'm not done yet. If you try to sneak out and do Magick, I will leave. If you try to steal something from the store, I'll leave you. I won't accept anything else. Do you understand me?" Only nodding in response, Willow could barely remember any moment where the other girl had effectively taken control of their relationship. It felt strange to hear Tara actually ordering her to do something. "I w-want you to tell me."

"I understand." Nodding again, Willow felt Tara's thumb wipe away some of her tears.

"I'm serious, Willow, this is y-your last chance."

"Tara, I promise. I love you."

"I love you too." As she started to stand back up, Tara felt the red-head's hands still linked behind her. "You're going to bed. We'll get rid of everything in the morning."

"A-Alright." The red-head answered, stuttering as she saw the other girl's expression that left no room for arguing. Allowing herself to be led to the bed, Willow closed her eyes for a moment as she felt Tara's hands on her body. Her mind felt almost fuzzy as she struggled to remember exactly what had happened, apart from her memories of doing a spell that was supposed to remove any shred of pain from her body and mind. After that, her mind began to go numb, much like how it had felt after performing the spell to bring back…_Don't think about it, don't think about it._

"Tara?" Saying the other girl's name aloud, the red-head lifted her hand in order to wipe away another tear as it began to form in her eye. "T-Thank you."

"Y-Y-You're welcome." Finally unable to stop herself from stuttering any longer, the blonde pushed the other girl gently back onto the bed.

"Tara?" Seeing that she had gotten the other girl's attention, Willow smiled slightly from behind her tear-stained cheeks. "Was I cute as a kid?"

Smiling in response, Tara kissed the other girl's forehead before moving down to kiss her lips. Pulling away after a few moments, she looked into Willow's green eyes.

"Yes, you were."


End file.
